From Big Rigs and Banks to Handjobs Part 1

A late bloomer in the Japanese sex industry talks about the strange turns of her life from bank employee to truck driver to real estate agent and then escort.

(Translator's note: this is the ninth entry in the Men's Cyzo Japanese Sex Worker Series. Category-wise, they're not exactly Editorials though they feature pieces based on opinion and less fact and they're not exactly Interviews due to less focus on questions & answers and more focus on a narrative flow. What they are for sure are great reads into the Other Side of Japan that is only hinted at in mass consumption media. This is prime reading material for those wanting to know more about the various sex industries that make up Japan's red light district along with adult video from unique perspectives of those who actually walked the walk.)

It's now time to talk with I-ko (age 41) who contacted us about her experience as a Japanese sex worker. She may be older than some of the previous women I interviewed, but she certainly does not look it. Rather, meeting her first time at the interview location left me in awe by how charming she was.

This may be in part due to her only working in a fuuzoku since the beginning of the year.

That's a certifiably late bloomer for a Japanese sex worker. What circumstances made her reach the decision to work in the sex industry at such an 'advanced' age?

I-ko came from a rural town and was raised in a family of 4. Her father worked for a transport company in a management position.

“He was physically strict with our upbringing when it came to discipline. He was worse to my mom and I think that was partially the reason why she eventually admitted herself into a hospital due to depression.”

Her hospitalized mother led to a drastic change in home life. I-ko, being quite immature at the time, thought whatever her father said was the law. Her vicious cycle of a home life had no respite as relatives would frequently burden them with their problems.

Somehow the care of her well-being was given over to a stranger whom her father knew from an izakaya. It was not long after she had her first sexual experience.

“There was a boy my age who lived there too. We played doctor and he tended to be in charge. He'd have me strip naked.”

It wasn't just being stripped naked. It didn't stop there. Being obedient due to her crisis-inducing upbringing, I-ko didn't bat an eye when the medical game of curiosity continued onward to touching both above and below the waist.

“Frankly speaking, I can't say that I did not enjoy it. For as long as I could remember, I knew about—and used to my advantage—table corners.”

This type of an abnormal household situation fostered an environment where I-ko ended up not going to school too often. It wasn't that she was teased nor was she something of a delinquent. It was that she simply had no interest in compulsory Japanese education. Instead of her studies, I-ko preferred to read adult-oriented—to some extent—love stories. Some were short stories published in popular magazines for women.

Things changed a bit for I-ko when she was in high school. Somehow she became the manager of the baseball club. It was there she became acquainted with a classmate whom she ended up loosing her virginity to. You would think table-rubbing I-ko would of loved the experience...

“I don't remember much about it. It didn't feel that bad and that was about it. I guess it was as normal as first times come.”

Some women get hooked on sex after their first time. I-ko was not one of them. She split with her virgin-freeing boyfriend soon after the deed was done.

Written by Mikako Kikuchi.
Mikako Kikuchi was born on March 17th, 1977 in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture. Between the ages of 21 and 29, she worked as a cabaret club hostess, telephone sex operator, and an AV actress. She now writes for a living.

(Translator's note: troubled homes like I-ko's happen everywhere. The Japanese are often criticized for still living in the 1950's when it comes to domestic responsibilities and unfortunately it does hold merit. There are still too many households to count with men who demand more than they give in. Things are changing bit by bit with more and more women remaining independent even after getting married. However, some eventually burn out and divorce rates are on the rise...)

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